The two surviving dogs belonging to actor Gene Hackman and his wife Betsy Arakawa “are safe and adjusting” after the couple was mysteriously found dead alongside a third dog in their Santa Fe, New Mexico, home last week, their friend told ABC News.
The dog who died, an Australian kelpie mix named Zinfandel or “Zinna,” was found in a crate about 10 to 15 feet from Arakawa’s body when the couple was discovered on Feb. 26, according to officials.
But their two other dogs — Bear, a German shepherd, and Nikki, a German shepherd mix — were found alive. It appeared they had access to a doggy door; one was near Arakawa’s body and the other was located outside, according to Santa Fe County Sheriff Adan Mendoza.
Joey Padilla, who owns Santa Fe Tails, where Hackman, 95, and Arakawa, 65, often boarded their dogs, has the two surviving dogs in his care.
“They are safe and adjusting,” Padilla told ABC News. “I will be holding on to them until I get word on what Betsy’s wishes for these dogs are.”
“Gene and Betsy were amazing friends and dog lovers,” he said. “Those dogs were Betsy’s babies.”
Actor Gene Hackman and wife Betsy Arakawa pose for a portrait in 1986 in Los Angeles.
Donaldson Collection/Michael Ochs Archives/Getty Images, FILE
Padilla, who knew the couple for over a decade, said he frequently went out to eat with them before the pandemic. In the years since, Padilla stopped seeing Hackman, because he said Arakawa tried to “keep him away from people” to protect his health.
Padilla said the last time he saw Arakawa was in January when she dropped off Bear.
“She was the same old, just, you know, ‘Hey, how’s it going, good to see you,'” he said of their final conversation.
“I’m terribly saddened. They were really good people,” he said.
The Academy Award-winning actor and his wife were found dead on Feb. 26 during a welfare check, with no obvious signs of how they died, the sheriff’s office said.
The couple’s cause and manner of death have not been determined.
Both tested negative for carbon monoxide. Investigators are awaiting full autopsy results and toxicology reports, according to the Santa Fe County Sheriff’s Office.
Law enforcement officials talk outside the home of actor Gene Hackman on Feb. 27, 2025 in Santa Fe, N.M.
The New Mexico Gas Company has finished its investigation for leaks and carbon monoxide at the home and there were no significant findings, the Santa Fe County sheriff’s and fire departments said Tuesday.
One minuscule leak was found at a stove burner, but a non-lethal amount of gas was being released, the departments said. There were four other code enforcement violations not involving gas leaks or carbon monoxide at a water heater and gas log lighters installed in three fireplaces, the departments said.
Authorities said the deaths were “suspicious enough in nature to require a thorough search and investigation,” according to the search warrant affidavit.
The house owned by actor Gene Hackman and his wife Betsy Arakawa on Feb. 27, 2025, in Santa Fe, N.M.
Hackman was discovered on the floor in the mud room, according to the search warrant. It appeared he fell suddenly, and he and his wife “showed obvious signs of death,” the document said.
Hackman is believed to have died on Feb. 17 — nine days before he was found — Mendoza said, noting that was the date of the last recorded “event” on his pacemaker.
Arakawa was found lying on her side on the floor in a bathroom, with a space heater near her body, according to the search warrant.
Her body showed signs of decomposition, the document said. There was mummification to her hands and feet, the document said.
On the counter near Arakawa was an opened prescription bottle, with pills scattered, according to the search warrant.
